Sunglasses containing embedded louver means

ABSTRACT

A sunglass lens of a type to be worn by a person includes a plurality of laterally extending, transparent panes disposed one above the other wherein the panes are curved about the face of the wearer in vertical and horizontal planes. One of the panes is unobstructed so as to form an elongate viewing aperture. Longitudinally extending louvers are disposed within each of two other panes in a manner whereby the louvers are arranged in spaced relation one above the other to form partially transparent masking panes above and below the aperture pane. In manufacturing the sunglass lens of the foregoing type a method is provided for tipping the panes upwardly and downwardly progressively above and below the viewing aperture, the tipping becoming progressively increased with displacement from the plane of the viewing aperture pane.

Oiuecu ounce Iauclu 1 3,756,703 Nelson Sept. 4, 1973 1 SUNGLASSESCONTAINING EMBEDDED 57 ABSTRACT LOUVER MEANS A sunglass lens of a typeto be worn by a person in- [76] Inventor: Robert J. Nelson, 620 w, Fl At, cludes a plurality of laterally extending, transparent 25, Stockton,Calif. 95203 panes disposed one above the other wherein the panes arecurved about the face of the wearer in vertical and [22] Filed:horizontal planes. One of the panes is unobstructed so [21 App]. No.:213,655 as to form an elongate viewing aperture. Longitudinallyextending louvers are disposed within each of two other panes in amanner whereby the louvers are arranged in 4 1: spaced relation oneabove the other to form partially [58] Field S 4 transparent maskingpanes above and below the aperture pane. in manufacturing the sunglasslens of the foregoing type a method is provided for tipping the panesupwardly and downwardly progressively above [56] References C'ted andbelow the viewing aperture, the tipping becoming UNITED STATES PATENTSprogressively increased with displacement from the 2,114,658 4/1938Nofisinger 351/45 plane of the viewing aperture pane.

3,524,789 8/l970 Olsen 161/6 5 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PrimaryExaminer-David Schonberg Assistant ExaminerPaul A. Sacher Attorney- PaulD. Flehr, Baylor G. Riddell et al.

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SUNGLASSES CONTAINING EMBEDDED LOUVER the horizontal at positionsdefined respectively increas- MEANS ingly remote from the aperture pane.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention pertains to a sunglass lensand method of manufacturing same and is particularly useful in makingand providing sunglasses for skiers and other confronted with glare frombelow and bright sun from above.

Hertofore various types of louvered sunglasses have been attemptedwherein the louvers in the glasses are disposed in a horizontal plane(when the wearer is standing). Sunglasses of this type have generallybeen too effective in masking out the sun from above and glare frombeneath. Accordingly, such sunglasses have provided problems of the typewherein a driver operating a motor vehicle and wearing such sunglasseswould have difficulty in glancing down to note the speedometer or othergauges normally positioned below the line of sight. Similarly, a skierwill have difficulty in noting the tips of his skis as he looks ahead.The ski tips are masked entirely since the viewing angle in a verticalplane is quite narrow in these normal types of louvered sunglasses.

Other attempts have been made to provide a suitable sunglass which willmask off both direct rays of the sun and the glare of reflected lightfrom beneath simply by providing a heavy or quite dense sunglass bothabove and below a narrow transverse slit through which the wearer viewsthe scene. Glasses of this latter type have also suffered variousshortcomings, mainly in the fact that unless the panes above and belowthe viewing aperture or transverse slit are opaque or substantiallyopaque, the wearer is again subjected to substantial glare fromreflected light through the lower pane and considerable direct sunlightthrough the upper pane. If the panes are opaque, the wearer is thenconstricted to viewing simply through the sole region of thetransversely extending viewing aperture. This, of course, would providethe problems noted above relative to being unable to notethe tips ofskis, a speedometer when driving a car, etc.

Accordingly, there has been a substantial need for a sunglass lens of atype wherein direct rays of the sun are substantially masked out fromabove while permitting the wearer of the sunglass to have a considerablefield of view upwardly through the sunglass and similarly to permit thewearer to provide a considerable field of view downwardly beneath theviewing aperture while again masking out the reflected glare frombeneath.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION AND OBJECTS In general, sunglasses have beenprovided to be worn by a person wherein the lens thereof comprises aplurality of laterally extending, transparent panes disposed one abovethe other. The panes are curved about the face of the wearer in verticaland horizontal planes, one of the panes being unobstructed to form anelongate viewing aperture. Longitudinally extending louvers are disposedwithin each of two other panes flanking the viewing aperture, above andbelow. The louvers are disposed in their panes in spaced relation oneabove the other to form partially transparent masking panes above andbelow the aperture pane. The louvers of the panes above and below theaperture pane are tipped respectively upwardly and downwardly as viewedby the wearer at progressively increasing angles relative to It isanotherobject of the invention to provide an iinproved method ofmanufacture whereby louvers can be disposed at progressively differentangles relative to a horizontal plane through the eyes of the wearer.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention will become morereadily evident from the following detailed description of a preferredembodiment of the invention when considered in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective to theinvention.

FIG, 2 is aside elevation section view of FIG. 1 taken along the line2--2. Y

FIGS. 3 and 4 are enlarged detailed portions of FIG. 2 takenrespectively along the lines 33 and 4-4 thereof for demonstrating themasking effect of the increasingly angled louvers. FIG. 5 is adiagrammatic end elevation view of a laminated substrate blank to beused in making the lens 10 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged detail view of FIG. 5 taken along the line 6-6thereof. 1 FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic elevation view of a drape moldingform and heating means for molding substrate blank 31 therearound.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIG. 1, apair of sunglasses have been shown in condition to be worn characterizedby a lens assembly 10 comprising a plurality of three laterallyextending, transparent, panes 11, 12, 13 disposed one view of sunglassesaccording above the other as worn-by the wearer. All of the panes ll,12, 13 are curved about the face of the wearer in vertical andhorizontal planes.

Pane 13 is constructed'of entirely transparent material, preferablythermoplastic. The other two panes 1 l, 12 are also made of transparentplastic material, but

' are formed with opaque louvers 14, 16. Thus, longitudinally extending,extremely thin louvers, on the order of 0.0003 inch, form the centrallayer 17 of lens 10.

7 Louvers 14, 16 of the central layer 17 are disposed in spaced relationone above the other at spacings of the order of 0.010 inchto formpartially transparent masking panes above and below the aperture pane12. In this regard, it is readily evident that if louvers 14, 16 are allhorizontal, they will restrict the foreground and overhead viewing fromthe eye as it looks straight forward through aperture pane l2. Layer 17runs on the order of 0.003 inch thick.

The material of lens 10 can be provided by using the method andtechniques shown by US. Pat. No. 3,524,789 or others. According to suchpatent, a numher of circular, transparent plastic wafers are supportedupon a billet or spindle, such wafers having alternately occurringopaque surfaces as stacked upon the billet. Then, upon applying heat andcompression to the mass of plastic material, a substantially solidcylindrical block of such alternately occurring material is providedhaving similarly oriented, alternately occurring, opaque surfaces. Thena skiving knife is employed to peel off a web from the cylindrical rollof material while simultaneously applying heat from heating lamps tosoften the material. Portions of this web are employed as a unitary lensblank comprised of several laterally disposed panes, one above theother. Thus, it is relatively simple to provide louvers in portionswhere desired and where a transparent aperture pane is desired, totallytransparent wafers of plastic material are introduced having no opaquesurfaces.

By providing a number of wafers upon a billet as described in the aboveidentified patent, the opaque surfaces provide louvers perpendicular tothe surface of the web of material peeled from the cylindrical rollthereof.

A method is pursued as described further below in order to direct theplane of louvers l4 downwardly and forwardly and to direct louvers l6upwardly and forwardly so as to provide the upper and lower sets oflouvers at progressively increasing angles relative to the horizontal atthose positions defined respectively increasingly remote from themid-plane through the aperture pane 12. This expands the foreground viewthrough the lens and expands the overhead view through the lens whilethe wearer directs his gaze directly via the mid-plane of aperture pane12.

The central layer 17 provides the louvered portions to the upper andlower panes 13, 11 as well as the unobstructed clear pane 12. The backor rear surface of lens is covered with a grey tinted sheet 18 forming abody layer of suitable semi-pliant plastic such as cellulose acetatebutyrate or polycarbonate for diminishing the internal reflections fromthe sunglasses originating from rays coming from behind the head of thewearer. The thickness of sheet 18 is on the order of 0.060 inch so as toprovide some substantial protective and supporting body strength to thelens.

The front surface layer of lens 10 is also similarly covered with asheet 19 of protective plastic such as the above thermoplastics forpreventing scratching of the lens surface, etc., and is on the order of0.005 inch thick. In the manufacture of the sheet material employed withregard to lens 10, the three layers are laminated together byconventional means such as bonding, adhesives, and the like.

In order to tip louvers l4, 16, respectively downwardly and upwardly,the laminated substrate construction or blank 3] (FIG. 5) consisting ofsheets l8, l9, and the central layer 17 of louvers is provided with itslouvers essentially perpendicular to the plane of the sheets, whenformed as flat sheets. The preformed thermoplastic flat substrate orblank 31 is heated by heat lamps 32 to a temperature sufficient torender the substrate or blank 31 pliant and subsequently it is bentabout a form 33 to curve the substrate in vertical and horizontal planesthereby forming a complex curve of the kind shown so as to dispose thelouvers at angles corresponding to the degrees of bending of thesubstrate blank.

Having thus formed lens 10, the lens is arranged to be strapped to thehead of a skier, for example, by means of a pair of interconnectingstraps 21, 22. Straps 21, 22 may have end portions arranged to confronteach other ofa type to interlock as, for example, as sold under thetrademark Velcro which is characterized by a number of interlockinghooks and which holds securely against longitudinal pulling forces butwhich will readily release upon peeling one of the strap ends away fromthe other.

Thus, straps 21, 22 are threaded through substantially vertical slots 23formed through the trailing ends of lens 10.

Behind and along the upper edge margin 24 of pane 13 a foam or otherpliant sealing material is attached by means of adhesives or otherwiseso as to be adapted to engage the forehead of the wearer of thesunglasses. Accordingly, a sealed interface is provided between theforehead of the wearer and along the inner surface of the upper sealportion 26. The seal is continued down wardly along the trailing sideportions of lens 10 in a similar manner whereby the foam or other pliantsealing material is disposed substantially vertically in a band or strip27 located immediately in advance of slots 23. A lower seal is similarlyformed by means of a foam or other resilient sealing material locatedalong the bottom edge margin 28. A silicone rubber or molded-vinyl nosepiece 29 supports lens 10 comfortably upon the wearers nose in a mannerwhereby the mid-plane of viewing aperture pane 12 will be disposed atthe level of the eyes of the wearer.

Thus, FIG. 4 illustrates the masking effect of louvers 14 taken at thelower portions of pane 11 while louvers l4 taken at the upper portion ofpane 11 provide limited masking with increased visibility as shown inFIG. 3.

Having the foregoing general explanation in mind, specific dimensions ofone operable lens construction and its composition according to theinvention consists of a body layer 18 of grey tinted cellulose acetatebutyrate or polycarbonate having a thickness on the order of 0.060 inch,a central thickness or layer 17 of louvers on the order of 0.003 inchthick and a front cover sheet 19 of cellulose acetate butyrate of theorder of 0.005 inch thick. The spacing between louvers prior to bendingor drape molding the flat laminated material runs on the order of 0.010inch and the thickness of the louvers runs on the order of 0.0003 inch.

Accordingly, there has been provided an improved sunglass of a typewherein the lens serves to shield the eyes of the wearer completely fromrays of the sun at high angles and glare from the immediate foregroundwhile otherwise generally enlarging the vertical angle of observationthrough the louvered portions of the lens. a

I claim:

1. A sunglass lens to be worn by a person including a plurality oflaterally extending, transparent panes disposed one above the other,longitudinally extending louvers disposed in spaced relation one abovethe other extending transversely of and embedded in one of said panes toform a partially transparent masking portion and another of said panesbeing disposed contiguous to the last named said pane to form anunobstructed viewing portion vertically adjacent said masking portion,the first named pane being curved in a vertical plane, and said louversbeing tipped at progressively increasing angles to the horizontal atpositions located respectively progressively remote from the secondnamed pane.

2. A sunglass lens to be worn by a person including a plurality oflaterallyextending transparent panes disposed one above the other,longitudinally extending louvers disposed in spaced relation one abovethe other extending transversely of and lying in one of said panes toform a partially transparent masking portion and another of said panesbeing disposed contiguous to the last named said pane to form anunobstructed viewing portion vertically adjacent said masking portion,the first named pane having its said louvers disposed at progressivelyincreasing angles to the horizontal at positions located respectivelyprogressively remote from the second named pane.

3. ln sunglasses of a type to be worn by a person, a lens comprising aplurality of laterally extending, transparent panes disposed one abovethe other, said panes being curved about the face of the wearer invertical and horizontal planes, one of said panes being unobstructed toform an elongate viewing aperture, longitudinally extending louversdisposed within each of two others of said panes, said louvers beingdisposed in spaced relation one above the other to form partiallytransparent masking panes above and below said aperture pane.

I 4. A lens for sunglasses according to claim 3 wherein said louvers ofthe panes above and below said aperture pane are tipped respectivelyupwardly and downwardly as viewed by the wearer at progressivelyincreasing angles relative to the horizontal at positions definedrespectively increasingly remote from said aperture pane. -5.Insunglasses of a type tobe worn by a person, a lens comprising aplurality of laterally extending, trans parent panes disposed one abovethe other, said panes being curved in a horizontal plane about the faceof the wearer, one of said panes being unobstructed to form an elongateviewing aperture pane, longitudinally extending louvers disposed withinone of said panes, said louvers being disposed in spaced relation oneabove the other to form a partially transparent masking pane verticallyadjacent said aperture pane.

1. A sunglass lens to be worn by a person including a plurality oflaterally extending, transparent panes disposed one above the other,longitudinally extending louvers disposed in spaced relation one abovethe other extending transversely of and embedded in one of said panes toform a partially transparent masking portion and another of said panesbeing disposed contiguous to the last named said pane to form anunobstructed viewing portion vertically adjacent said masking portion,the first named pane being curved in a vertical plane, and said louversbeing tipped at progressively increasing angles to the horizontal atpositions located respectively progressively remote from the secondnamed pane.
 2. A sunglass lens to be worn by a person including aplurality of laterally extending transparent panes disposed one abovethe other, longitudinally extending louvers disposed in spaced relationone above the other extending transversely of and lying in one of saidpanes to form a partially transparent masking portion and another ofsaid panes being disposed contiguous to the last named said pane to forman unobstructed viewing portion vertically adjacent said maskingportion, the first named pane having its said louvers disposed atprogressively increasing angles to the horizontal at positions locatedrespectively progressively remote from the second named pane.
 3. Insunglasses of a type to be worn by a person, a lens comprising aplurality of laterally extending, transparent panes disposed one abovethe other, said panes being curved about the face of the wearer invertical and horizontal planes, one of said panes being unobstructed toform an elongate viewing aperture, longitudinally extending louversdisposed within each of two others of said panes, said louvers beingdisposed in spaced relation one above the other to form partiallytransparent masking panes above and below said aperture pane.
 4. A lensfor sunglasses according to claim 3 wherein said louvers of the panesabove and below said aperture pane are tipped respectively upwardly anddownwardly as viewed by the wearer at progrEssively increasing anglesrelative to the horizontal at positions defined respectivelyincreasingly remote from said aperture pane. 5.In sunglasses of a typeto be worn by a person, a lens comprising a plurality of laterallyextending, transparent panes disposed one above the other, said panesbeing curved in a horizontal plane about the face of the wearer, one ofsaid panes being unobstructed to form an elongate viewing aperture pane,longitudinally extending louvers disposed within one of said panes, saidlouvers being disposed in spaced relation one above the other to form apartially transparent masking pane vertically adjacent said aperturepane.